Screw holder



I Oct. 6, 1936; J. B. CONKLIN 2,056,256

SCREW HOLDER Filed Sept. 24, 1934 INVENTOR.

EJNKLIN .TE-E

Patented Oct. 6, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SCREW HOLDER Joseph B. Oonklin, Carlisle, Iowa Application September 24, 1934, Serial No. 745,254

7 2 Claims. (01.145-52) The principal object of my invention is to provide, an easily manually operated attachment for a screw driver that will successfully hold a screw or the like to and on the point of the screw driver. on which it is installed.

.Afurther object of this invention is to provide a screw holding device for screw drivers that may be easily and quickly manually placed in an inoperative position on the screw driver and the screw driverused in the ordinary manner without interference therefrom.

a A still further object of my invention is to provide a manually operated tong constructed screw holding device for screw drivers that will yieldingly frictionally engage the shaft of the screw driver when it is holding a screw or like. but will be completely released from such holding engagement on the shaft when the tong arms are manually moved away from the screw driver shaft; i r

A- still further object of my invention is to provide a combination screw driver and screw holding device that isso constructed that the screw holding device portion may be quickly slidably positioned on the screw driver shaft for operative position, non-operative position, and a position' where it may be used as a tweezers in advance of. the screwdriver point.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device for holding a screw to and on a screwdriver that is economical in manufacture and durable in use.

1 These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, ar-

rangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the 1,3 accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is aside view of my complete device installed'on'a screw driver and in use.

Fig. Z'is aside view of the upper portion of the device and is taken on the side opposite the side 45 shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged inside view of the pivot portion of one of the tong arms.

Fig.4 is1an enlarged side-sectional view of th pivot portion of one of the tong arms and is taken 50 on line 4-4.of Fig.3.

- Fig. 5 isa top plan view. of the upper portion of the device and more fullyillustrates its construction.

v Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a screw being 55 held by my device, taken online 66 of Fig. 1,

and showing the forward end of the device engaging the shank of the screw.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of my device on an ordinary screw driverand is taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 1. 5..

Any one who uses a screw driver over a substantial period of time discovers that in certain instances where confined areas are encountered, it is almost impossible to get a screw started into the medium intowhich it is to be screwed. Al- 10 though my device is particularly adapted to overcome such circumstances, it is also exceptionally handy to use in starting screws even when there is suflicient room to hold the screw in one hand and the screw driver in the other. 15

Referring to the drawing, I have used the numeral Ill to designate the shaft of an ordinary screw driver having the screw head engaging point] I. It is uponsuch a shaft that I attach my screw holding device andwhich I will now 20 explain. I have used thenumerals l2 and L3 to designate the two tong arms of my screw holder designed to extend at each side of the screw driver shaft in positions. diametrically opposite from each other, as shown in Fig. 1. On the 25 lower .end of each ofthe arms I2 and I3 is an inwardly extending jaw portion M capable of engaging the shank of a screw 15 just below the head, as shown in Fig. 6. These jaw elements may be enlarged in width near their ends, as 30 shown in Fig. 6 to provide better support to the good area engagement with the under side of the head of the screw. The numeral l6 designates a serrated handle portion formed on the upper ends of each of the tong arms l2 and I3. The numeral I1 designates a split bearing element on the inner side of each of the tong arms and positioned just below the handlemember portions It, as shown in Fig. 2. These split bearing portions I! are complementary with each other and surround the shaft ll] of the screw driver.. The. specific construction of these split bearing members I! is an important phase of the device inasmuch as they must tightly clamp on the screw driver shaft when the handle portions l6 are not being compressed with the thumb and finger of the user and must loosely embrace the screw driver shaft when the handle portions l 6 are in a compressed condition. In this connection it will be noted that the bore produced by the two split bearing members; which are complements of each other, varies'in direction and diameter and that the adjacent and engaging side portions of the two split bearing members are of special construction.

.As .each of the split bearing members I! is an the trough. In order that the forward portionof the trough'that extends downwardly and outwardly toward the lower end of the tong arm will tightly embrace the shaft of the screw driver:

when the handles I are released, this portion of the trough is more shallow than the rear portion" of the trough which extends downwardly andvoutwardly in a direction toward the upper end of the tong. This is particularly shown'bythe sidewalls of each of the bearing members that extend upwardly at each side of the forward portion of the trough'de'creasing in height relative to the'bottom of the forward portion of" the troughas they progress downwardly, as shown in Fig. 4'. These lower side portions of the bearing'members, when.

assembled adjacent each other as shown in Fig. 1, do not quite touch in order that the forward portion-of the bore of the bearing members will rest: on andengage the shaft of the screw driver for yieldingly holding the device on the shaft-of the screw driver against displacement; Besides the side walls'of each of the split'bearing: members at eachside of'the rear portion of the trough rising to a height substantially above the:bottom of the' trough, theside wallsdecrease in thickness as they extend to the rear, as shown in Fig 3..

This construction with the relatively increased depth of the rear or upper portion of the trough prov-ides, when the two bearing members are assembled, a rear bore portion ofsubstantially greater diameter than the forward portion of the bore in" which the shaft ll) of the screw driver functions.

B y compressing the handle portions IS the two bearing members will rock on each other andthis' rocking action is encouraged by slightly rounding the marginal edges of the side portions at each side of the rear portion of the boreyasshown' in Fig. 4 With these rounded edge. portions, which I have designated by the numeral. l9, pivoting onv eachother the forward-portion of the trough portions will be moved away from'the shaft Ill and due to the rear portion of the: bore being of a diameter substantially greater than that of the shaft of the screw driver, the screw driver will be only loosely embraced by the bore, during which condition the" tong arms may be rotated or slid forwardly or rearwardly on the screw driver shaft. Any suitable means may be used to yieldin'gly' bring the forward. ends of the tong arms, together' and the forward portions of the troughs I8 intofrictional contact with the shaft of the screw driver when the handle members I6 are released. In the drawing, I show this accomplished by a double U-spring 2B. A U-portion of the spring is positioned at each side of the device, respectively, and the connecting lower end portions of the spring passed over each face of the two tong arms, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5. To prevent the accidental removal of the spring a transverse groove 2| is formed in the face of each of the tong arms for the reception of the connecting end portions of the spring, respectively. These grooves 2|are positioned forward of the pivot point of the two split bearing members'in order that the forward ends of the tong arms will always be yieldingly held toward each other. The spring 20 serves the dual purpose of resisting the compression of the handle members l6 and holding the tong arms in assembled condition on the screw driver. In order to prevent the longitudinal movement of either of the bearing members relative to the other, I have provided a lug 22 and a lug receiving depression 23 on and in each of the split bearing members, as shown in Fig. 3.

When" the two bearing members are; assembled together around: the shaft, of. the screw driver a lug of each of the bearing members extends into and engages a lug receiving depression of the other. As each tong arm portion of the device is anex-act duplicate of the other, the complete device when. disassembled, consists of only three pieces.

To operatethe device it is merely necessary to manually compress the two handle members l6, place a screw on the point of the screw driver, slide my: device tothe proper position on the screwdriver: shaft, and release the handle members lfito-allow the jaw portions I4 to engagethe under side of the head 'of the screw, embrace the shank of the screw, and hold the screw in properposition on the endof-the screw driver,- as shown inFig; 1. To release the screw from my device and the screw driver, it. is merely necessary: to manually force the handle portions l6: toward each-other, at which time the device may be easily moved to the rear on the screw driver and into an inoperative out-of-the-way: position. This movement of the device to an inoperative position is always desirable before the screw has been com pletely screwed into place. There is no danger of the: device accidentally moving from such in0p.-. erative position, as the spring 20 will yieldingly hold the forward portion of the bore of the split bearing members tightly onto and around the shaft of the screw driver at such a position, as. well. as when in: an operative-position. When it is desired to use the device as a pair 'of tweezers, the'handle'members 16' are compressed and the device slid forwardly on. the shaft lll' until the jaws M are in positions substantially beyond the point of the screw driver, at which time the device may be operated in the same manner as a pair of tweezers for picking up screws or other small items.

Some changes may be made in the construc-. tion and arrangement of my improved device for holding a screw to and on a screw driver without departing. from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my invention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

' 1. In combination with a screw driver having a shaft, a screw-holding device comprising two. elongated arms, a screw engaging element on the forward end of each of" said arms, a split bearing member'on each of said arms and at a substantial distance from the forward ends of the arms, a means for pivoting said split bearing members to each other near their longitudinal side centers; said bearing members provided with'a bore em'-. bracing the shaft of'said screw driver; said bore being of a smaller diameter at its forward end portion than it is at its rear end portion, a spring means for yieldingly holding the walls of the forward'end portion of said borein frictional en-. gagement with the shaft of said screw driver and the forward end portions of said arms toward each other, and handle portions on said arms facilitating the manual movement of said bearing members against the action of said spring means for moving the walls of the forward end portion of the said bore of said split bearing members out of engagement with the shaft of said screw driver and the forward end portions of said arms away from each other.

2. In combination with a screw driver having a shaft, a screw holding device comprising two elongated arms, a screw engaging element on the forward end of each of said arms, a split bearing member on each of said arms and at a substantial distance from the forward ends of the arms,

a means for pivoting said split bearing members to each other near their longitudinal side centers; said bearing members providing a bore of varying diameter embracing the shaft of said screw driver, longitudinally curved marginal edges on each of said split bearing members extending rearwardly from their pivot points; said bearing members providing a bore embracing the shaft of said screw driver; said bore being of a smaller diameter at its forward end portion than it is at its rear end portion, a spring means for yieldingly holding the walls of the forward end portion of said bore in frictional engagement with the shaft of said screw driver and the forward end portions of said arms toward each other, and handle portions on each of said arms for facilitating the manual rocking of said bearing members back upon their longitudinal curved marginal edge portions for moving the walls of the forward end portion of the said bore of said split bearing members out of engagement with the shaft of said screw driver and the forward end portions of said arms away from each other.

JOSEPH B. CONKLIN. 

